Tag Archives: Spanish

Officers from the Guardia Civil in Alicante have arrested two men who deceived women into performing strip teases and naked dance routines during interviews for nonexistent jobs as nightclub dancers. The operation began last summer when investigators became aware of the existence of a profile on a social network site which was offering work as a waitress or dancer in …

We have been asked by a number of classic car owners and associations about the laws that refer specifically to this type of vehicle and what provisions the drivers must make when driving on Spanish roads.
Royal Decree 1247/1995, deals with the regla...

Four men were arrested by Torrevieja's Civil Guard last week on suspicion of three counts of theft and four of burglary, valued at 10,000 euros, of citrus fruit in Callosa de Segura.
The men were all of Spanish nationality and were aged between 27 an...

Local expat charities are working hard to support both British and Spanish nationals, British Consul Sarah-Jane Morris saw in a day-long visit to the north of Alicante province this week.
Mrs Morris spent a morning in the HELP centres in La Xara, and ...

A week of celebrations commemorating el Día de las Fuerzas Armadas, or Armed Forces Day, came to a close at the weekend, with thousands of people having had an insight into some of the duties performed by the Spanish military.
Locally, the Orih...

Campoverde Theatre Group has a really great show for you, good music, great dance numbers and lots of very funny sketches.
‘Let Us Entertain You' is a fast paced show will keep you entertained and smiling and will have you singing along with som...

The Orihuela Costa based Claro political group has issued a statement alleging possible electoral fraud. “Voting shambles”…. “a tactical ploy which probably worked”. These were the heading and conclusions of a letter to the Editor of a prominent, local English language newspaper. They sum up exactly what C.L.A.R.O. thinks about the organisation of the municipal elections in Orihuela Costa on …

Here on the Costa's golf is one of the biggest leisure time activities for both tourists and resident alike and with this in mind we have secured the services of Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services to provide a weekly round up of local golf...

Last weekend´s elections not only dealt a blow to some of the larger political parties, they will also have potentially serious repercussions on a local level, especially in the two ex-pat rich areas of Orihuela and Torrevieja.
Despite the often...

In an operation involving Spain's National Police and the British Border Police, 24 people have been arrested, 13 in Spain and 11 in the UK, mostly from the same family, in a human trafficking network originating in Madrid

Those arrested were allegedly smuggling Afghan nationals, into several European countries, in exchange for 25,000 euros

By using falsified travel documents and accompanied by a "facilitator" the refugees would take a flight from Islamabad (Pakistan), transiting through Spain or Italy, before being transferred from there to other European states.

The investigations began when six illegal Afghans were discovered in Bilbao Airport as traffickers attempted to smuggle them into the country. National Police Agents soon realized they were closing in on a criminal network that was based in Spain, with a leader of Pakistani origin, who was coordinating activities throughout Europe from Madrid.

He allegedly managed the gang's logistics, and reinvested the proceeds of his activities in Spanish businesses in order to launder the money illegally obtained.

After recruiting Afghans who each paid 25,000 euros to the operation a facilitator would move groups of between 6 and 12 refugees from Pakistan into Spain or Italy. He would be responsible for handling all travel logistics including airline tickets, fake passports, hotels and any other issues that might arise.
From there the victims would be issued with false documentation with which they would be moved on to their final European destination.

As the investigation progressed, police found that, quite often, the organization used to London Heathrow as airport transit prior to their arrival in Spain, so contact was made with the British Border Police, who proceeded to arrest of 11 people, a Pakistani and 10 Afghans traveling with false passports.

The arrests saw an immediate change of routing by the network which had to immediately reorganize its travel system in order to avoid Heathrow, opting for direct travel from Islamabad to Barcelona.

With this information, the National Police began to identify and locate other members of the organization resulting in the arrest of 13 people, including the leader of the group.

A number of homes and commercial establishments were raided in which 18 forged British and Spanish passports were found, 20 Pakistani passports, fake UK visas, passport pages with exit stamps, computers and mobile phone were seized along with bank documents and cash.

A search was also carried out in a Logrono travel agency, where officers found numerous documents which revealed the existence of more than 170 trafficked trips between April and September 2014 amounting to US $ 4,250,000.

There was a serious clash on the islands last week. No, I am not talking about the forthcoming Spanish elections, but a ferocious clash between two food festivals in the old town of Santa Maria de Guia in the north west of Gran Canaria.
The youngest ...

Spain is the world's third winemaking country with as many as 17 Spanish wineries among the world's best 100, according to the list published every year by the World Association of Writers and Journalists of Wines and Spirits (WAWWJ).
On the 2014 lis...